2 men charged in Durham shooting have ties to Crips gang, drugs and another killing

Watch as men shoot into an occupied vehicle leaving one dead

The Durham County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s assistance in its investigation of a fatal shooting at the intersection of Denver Street and Old Oxford Highway in Durham.

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The Durham County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s assistance in its investigation of a fatal shooting at the intersection of Denver Street and Old Oxford Highway in Durham.

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Durham

The Durham County Sheriff’s Office has charged two men in the fatal shooting of a 35-year-old Durham man last year.

Jamaal Lowery, 25, and Marquaseo Andrews, 28, are accused of murder in the death of James “Boo” Docher.

They appear to be linked to an ongoing effort targeting the Eight Trey Gangster Crips. The Crips are one of the gangs responsible for drug and violent crimes in Durham County, according to court documents.

The Sheriff’s Office and the Police Department declined to comment on the investigation or the Eight Trey Gangster Crips.

About 20 percent of court-involved juveniles in Durham are gang members or associates, compared with roughly 7 percent statewide, according to court counselors.

“Criminal street gangs present a very real threat to public safety in Durham,” the statement said.

Jamaal Lowery

‘Little Murder’

Docher was found shot in a car near Denver Avenue and Old Oxford Highway around 4:30 a.m. Nov. 16, 2017. Investigators believed three occupants in a silver or white sedan had followed him from the Food Lion on Meriwether Drive.

Lowery was arrested Friday, and Andrews is in federal prison.

Surveillance video released by the Sheriff’s Office shows the car stopping at a home on a dark morning and the flash of gunfire coming from the driver’s and passenger’s sides. Casings from three guns were found at the scene, according to court documents.

Andrews, according to federal court documents, is a member of the Eight Trey Gangster Crips with the street name “Little Murder.”

Lowery and Andrews are close associates, according to Sheriff’s Office and Police Department search warrants. The warrants say Lowery posted a photo of him and two others with the word “gang” on social media, but don’t say whether he is a member of a specific gang and he isn’t mentioned in the federal case against Andrews.

Eight Trey Gangster Crips

The Raleigh/Durham Safe Street Task Force began investigating the activities of the Eight Trey Gangster Crips in 2017 “with the intent of dismantling the criminal enterprise that was distributing illegal narcotics, and conducting shootings, murders, armed robberies and other violent crimes in Durham,” according to federal court documents

Statements from witnesses and confidential informants indicate that Andrews and Lowery were also involved in killing Charleston Goodman, 26, according to Police Department search warrants.

Confidential informants can provide police with initial information they would not have otherwise been able to obtain. Confidential informants can also hinder prosecuting criminal cases if they aren’t credible due to personal interests or involvement in crimes.

“In the kidnapping report, a male with an Adidas stripped track suit was seen at the incident,” a warrant states. “Andrews is known for his Adidas attire, specifically striped track suits.”

One source also told police that that Andrews had kidnapped Goodman and sought $100,000. Another source told police Andrews killed Goodman and wrapped him in plastic bags.

Another source told police that Goodman’s death followed him breaking into a drug dealer’s apartment and stealing two bricks of cocaine. The drug dealer and Andrews have been seen together at clubs, the warrant states.

“The [confidential informant] stated that Goodman’ body is believed to have been fed to hogs,” the warrant states.

Docher shooting

Andrews was tied to the Docher shooting scene by what appears to be matching DNA found on a bullet and a Tropicana Twister bottle, according to search warrants.

On Feb. 14, police searched Andrews’ apartment and found a pistol magazine with 19 rounds in it under a mattress. In another room, they found another magazine with more ammunition and a small amount of marijuana.

Federal court documents indicate Andrews made phone calls between Feb. 18 and Feb. 20 while in the Durham County jail. In the calls, he indicated if the search had been made at another time “narcotics would have been found.” He also referred to selling cocaine.

In May, Andrews was convicted in a plea deal of being a felon in possession of ammunition and was sentenced in September to seven years. As part of the deal, prosecutors dropped two more federal charges related to an armed robbery of a Durham mini mart.

Andrews is appealing his conviction. He is in federal prison in West Virginia.

Court documents show Andrews, Lowery and Docher have a history of drug or violent-crime convictions.

Andrews’ offenses include robbery with a dangerous weapon, assault with a deadly weapon and common law robbery.

In 2012, police charged Lowery with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Kaaylon Pamplin, who was found shot sitting in a vehicle. Lowery pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and discharging a firearm into an occupied property in 2016.

Docher’s convictions included felony breaking and entering, assault on an officer or state employee, and trafficking a schedule II drug.

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